


Who has the knowledge and wisdom Tell me who'll be the hero to protect the kingdom

by cutebutpsyco



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Loss of Powers, M/M, MCU Christmas Exchange, Panic Attacks, Powers Swapt, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:55:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22022941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutebutpsyco/pseuds/cutebutpsyco
Summary: MCU CHRISTMAS EXCHANGE ||“I don’t know about the others, but for me, it’s because of the snark. You are the first person ever capable of keeping up with me. But for Rhodey, but he’s always seen me as a little brother and turned me down every time I tried to make a move on him.”
Relationships: Carol Danvers & Stephen Strange, Stephen Strange & Wong, Tony Stark & Stephen Strange, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Kudos: 47





	Who has the knowledge and wisdom Tell me who'll be the hero to protect the kingdom

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nonexistenz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nonexistenz/gifts).



> Ok, so, I'm still in a period when I really do not have any kind of inspiration, this came out sort of unprompted but I hope you'll like it. I'm still into the deadline, but sorry for the late posting. I had some issues with being holiday time here and having a catholic family which can't seem to realize I'm an atheist, added to the usual stress from work.  
> I really, really hope you'll like this. 
> 
> Nothing belongs to me, title from Heo by Heroic which I found a super Stephen's song.

Stephen had no idea what he was going to walk into once he crossed the portal and closed it at his back as fast as it appeared. He was in another dimension when the distress call reached him and once he was back where he belonged he found that Wong answered to the Avengers’ call and left the Sanctum. Which wasn’t something that happened frequently. 

Stephen wasn’t technically an Avenger himself, he refused to sign the Accords, but considering that the Government and the UN had nothing to do with interdimensional threats they couldn’t force him into signing the goddamn things. Of course, Ross tried to have his and the other Sorcerers’ names on a list of people of interest, but before any of them could send the Secretary into the Hell Dimension, Tony Stark and his army of lawyers barged into the room and sorted things out. Namely, the man could go fuck himself both ways and would have been accused of treason if he revealed the existence of Kamar-Taj to the world. The Sorcerers had to sign some papers that told them not to interfere with the battles in which the Avengers were called in by the UN, but they still had all the freedom they wanted against alien threats and the likes. Just like was very likely happen when Stephen found that Wong was on the field. 

The note he left on the fridge told Stephen that his friend went to “save your stupid boyfriend’s rich ass”. Which, well, if only it was that simple. He and Tony were friends, maybe a little more than that, and Wong told him that he heard from somebody he spoke with (either Rhodey or Natasha, the Sorcerer Supreme couldn’t tell) that Tony has been pining over him. According to the librarian, Stephen should have stopped his own version of that, namely being an idiot around Stark, and just confess his feelings. But, well, Stephen knew that Tony went through hell and back and he could tell that the man didn’t want another relationship with a person who was as messed up as him to complicate things while he was getting better.  
And the last thing Stephen wanted was to ruin the nice friendship they were building up. So, no, whatever Wong thought, it was just an inference. But that didn’t mean that Stephen could step back when he could help the Earth’s mightiest heroes. 

Which was how he ended up in the middle of whatever battle was going on. Stephen tried to let his eyes taking in as much as he could from the battlefield around him, but he didn’t seem to find an explanation for what he was seeing not even when the Cloak raised him from the ground. Rogers seemed to be fighting against some invisible enemy, shield flying around in a boomerang-like manner, hitting nothing but the air in front of him. The Winter Soldier and Sam Wilson were fighting against each other, the noise of bullets against the metal of the Falcon wings detecting an almost surreal rhythm. Was Machine and Carol Danvers were attacking something that looked like the wall of a half-collapsed building, but what got Stephen’s attention were Wong and Natasha. The woman was suspended in the air, her back pinned against another wall without nothing to sustain her weight and still half flying there, a pained expression all over her face, while the other Sorcerer was keeping Spider-Man imprisoned in the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. While he couldn’t understand what was going on, Stephen knew he could trust his friend and knew he wasn’t going to hurt Peter even if he’d ever pose some kind of threat. 

The man really liked the younger hero and he was probably the only one who could provide an explanation. “What’s going on?” He asked, in the exact moment when he landed. 

Wong turned to look at him and then back to Natasha. Stephen didn’t think that his friend was the reason why she was hanging from the wall, but there was something weird and a moment later, thanks to the other man, he realized what it was. “Someone mixed the way we use magic to create illusions with technology. They are fighting against something that doesn’t exist or isn’t what they think it is while they can’t see their real enemy.” 

It explained at least half of what was going on. “Why are you restrain Peter? Where is the attacker? Where is Stark?”

Stephen had even more questions, such as why they didn’t attack Wong too, or what was keeping Natasha like that, or why Sam and Bucky were fighting each other, but he knew there would have been the time, later. The other man didn’t even flinch at the Sorcerer Supreme’s numerous questions and answered: “He tried to attack me when I stepped through the portal, he thought I was there to help the person who’s doing this and tried to web me. I’m sure he’s not gonna try this trick on me ever again. While for the responsible of this and Stark. I don’t know. Haven’t seen them.”

Stephen nodded, looking at Peter and trying to understand, despite the mask he was wearing, if he was back in his right mind, then decided to try his luck and speak directly with him: “Can you tell me where is Tony?”

The young superhero turned his eyes to look at Stephen who was trying to understand his expression just from the wide eyes on his mask and then spoke: “Mr Stark told me to help with civilian and then bolted out of the scene. Is everything alright, Mr Doctor?”

The recognition had Stephen think that probably the illusions were temporary and then nodded, looking for the famous red and gold armour. Which he didn’t seem to find for the first ten minutes in which he also understood that nobody was going to be hurt by their antics. He nodded, almost taking in more and more of the scene in front of his eyes and decided to see if the people on the ground were fine. He would look for Tony and understand what was wrong with Natasha later. 

Which was why he let the Cloak bring him closer to Rhodey and Carol. The latter blinked her eyes as if focusing on the doctor, before telling him: “We need to free the hostages inside of this building, help us!”

Stephen stared, knowing that nothing was on the other side of the wall they decide was their enemy, but moved faster when his own powers seemed to let him know that there was something going on. It wasn’t a feeling he could name, it was difficult to know what to call it, but he just knew and, a moment later, as to prove his point, the wall collapsed on itself, almost knocking out Rhodey who was closer. And well, Stephen was sure that he didn’t imagine that.  
The Cloak dragged him back, pulling him away from the main beam of energy aimed at him before he could conjure his shields to protect his teammates. From the falling remains of the wall, a dark figure emerged. They had a huge black cape over their body, something similar to armour of sorts, just as black as the night. Stephen couldn’t see his face, the lower part of it covered in a sort of mask, and everything that was visible of his appearances was the eyes. 

“You see that too?” He asked Wong who was kneeled not so far from where the wall collapsed. Natasha was now standing next to Peter, holding her right shoulder, but Stephen couldn’t tell where Rogers, Wilson and Barner were. He just hoped they wouldn't side with the attacker. 

“Yes,” The librarian answered, and Strange was far sure that it meant that neither of them was under the influence of that person’s illusions.  
That was the moment when he saw Iron Man flying over the sky. Stark flew rapidly toward them, and the hiss of a missile reached his ears before it went off, hitting somewhere between the attacker and Carol who was facing them. All the man raised, though, was dust before the man crouched down near his teammates. “Good to see the wizards join. Do you want to do something or are you here just look handsome?” 

Stephen smirked, lips turning up against his own wish before moving around his mandalas and going back to face the person in front of them.

“Nat, Pete, can you help the Soldier Bros to go back to their mind?” Stark asked, and Stephen knew why he did that much: they were injured, doing that, he would have kept them away from the main action going on where the five of them stood. 

“Use that handsome crap on Strange, Stark,” Wong answered, and only someone who would have known him well could tell he was joking. “I’m here to kick some asses.”

“I wouldn’t give any advice,” Rhodey added, the moment when the person in front of them shoot something in their direction. Rapidly, Stephen and Tony took the sky and the Doctor watched as the combined blows seemed to pass through the dark silhouette of the person who wasn’t even attacking back. 

And when he turned his eyes to look at Wong, Rhodey and Carol he saw that the woman had the same expression which was probably crossing his face. Carol seemed to see that much because she reached him a heartbeat. 

“Whoever they are, they’re not there.” She said, dark eyes looking into Stephen’s steel-blue ones. He nodded. “Join me to look for the real bad guy, doc?”

And that was how Stephen followed the Captain in the middle of what seemed to be an abandoned alley. The person in front of them looked exactly like the one the others were fighting, but Stephen could tell it wasn’t just a clone like the ones he could use. It was different, the one he saw on the battlefield wasn’t an illusion, it was a living-like creature. He shook his head, trying to keep that line of thoughts away from his brain while he conjured again his shields. 

He had no idea if the person heard them coming, but didn’t want to know that in the worst way possible. He let the Cloak lowered him just at the same moment when Carol shot to the person. “You’re done hiding.”

“Really?” A deep voice answer. The person lowered the mask, turning to look at the heroes in front of him. The man seemed the most common looking Stephen has ever seen, and yet this made him think that it was even more upsetting than he originally thought. “Because it seems like I managed to do exactly what I wanted to.”

He moved his left hand, and for an instant, Stephen couldn’t tell if whatever movement was doing was aimed at them or the people they left back in the battlefield. But, then, the walls behind their back started to close on them trapping Stephen and Carol where they stood.  
His hand ran to look for the Sling Ring, hoping to portal both of them away from there before the alley swallowed them, but the man laughed when he seemed to understand what was going on. He moved his hand again, while Stephen did the same, trying to stop him to do whatever he was trying to, but everything he saw was Carol's hair light up and then he was pushed back against the wall and the crumbling noise of things falling against the asphalt.  
Then everything went black. 

\--

He woke up with his back lying on something soft, and he knew he wasn’t in the middle of the battlefield any longer. He tried to stand up, but when he did the entire room started to turn around his eyes while he tried to understand where he was. The room looked nothing like the Sanctum and that was definitely enough to make him panic if only he couldn’t see that the Cloak was resting itself against one of the armchairs in the room. 

“Mr Stark! Dr Strange is waking up!” He heard someone yelling and dread washed over him when he realized the voice belonged to Peter. Which very likely meant that he was at the Stark Tower. While in any other occasion Stephen would have been comfortable in being there, not knowing how he reached the place and remembering almost anything about the past… hours? minutes? days? He couldn’t tell, was upsetting at best. And how did he get there was another giant question mark in his mind. 

He remembered following Carol in a dark alley to look for the real attacker and meeting a man, and then everything went kind of foggy in his mind. It wasn’t something he was comfortable with. He needed to know what was around him, he needed to be constantly in charge of what was going on. He didn’t work well with uncertainty. 

And that was the reason why he gave his back to the source of the voice, near to where the Cloak was to face the door so that he could get ready to fight or run once that someone would have crossed the threshold. He knew he could trust Peter, and he had learnt to believe in the judgment of his relic so if it was tranquil it meant they weren’t in any immediate danger. 

Once that he was sure of that and his mind was clear enough to focus on what was around him but for the anxious boy who Stephen could tell was physically trying to understand if it was better to leave him alone or touch him. He was in a highly advanced medical structure, which was probably inside the Tower, the beeping from a machine on his right told him he was fine and the fact that he didn’t have the necessity to protect his eyes from the strong and cold light was a good indication of the fact that he didn’t have any concussion. But everything felt just… off.

And that was evident when he tried to astral project himself to understand if he was injured in any way. His magic simply didn’t seem to react to him, like if it was out of his reach or it has never been there. He tried, over and over again, calling in his mind every spell he could think of, without even noticing Peter’s hand on his shoulder and without hearing nothing but the buzzing of panic in his ears. He could see the young superhero moving his lips, but he couldn’t hear him, and couldn’t exactly understand what he was saying. The only thing his mind could think about was the total nothing there where his magic used to be.  
He lowered his glance, looking at the hideous sight of his hands as if it was their fault. He knew it wasn’t. The rational part of his mind knew it wasn’t. But there was little to be rational at that moment. 

“Stephen!” The voice broke through the buzzing while whiskey brown eyes appeared where his hands had been a moment before. He knew those eyes and the person at whom those belonged and those wide, worried eyes made him even more panicked than before. And, yet, helped him to focus on something else, something which wasn’t either his hands or the desperate search for his powers inside of him. “Stephen, I need you to calm down. Can you breath for me?”

The Sorcerer tried to focus on the voice, shaking hand clasped in the mechanic’s who was softly running his thumb over the scarred tissue. He didn’t even realize that the beeping of his heart monitor was slowing down, signalling that it fasted once he realized that he couldn’t reach magic. “What… What happened…?” 

Tony smiled at him, even if it was a tight smile. “We don’t have any idea. You and Carol disappeared and Wong thought maybe you got dragged away by an illusion. When we found you, though, we realized we were fighting the illusion. You both were knocked out, so we brought you there.” 

Stephen could imagine that much. What he didn’t know was what happened after the man trapped him and Carol inside of the alley and why he didn’t seem to find a single sparkle of magic in his body. “My powers?”

“What does it mean your powers?” Stephen saw Tony’s features getting harder. He knew what the man thought of magic and it was one of the reasons why he didn’t want to make a move on him. He was afraid of magic, he was terrified by it and the last thing the Sorcerer wanted was to make his friend even more uncomfortable around him when all he tried to be was to be a friendly face for the billionaire to speak with. He tried to move without letting go on Stark’s hand and then found a position in which he could look at his eyes without either of them having to bend their back too much. 

“I don’t… feel them,” He tried to explain not being too happy when he realized words were falling him. There wasn’t a way to express it any better, but it was weird to say something like that to someone who knew nothing about the Mystic Arts. 

“I’m not sure if this is relevant,” Peter answered, this time. “But, before, when you started to panic and them Mr Stark arrived and… Your hands were shining… I thought that was your magic. But I’ve never seen you do that before.”

Stephen went back to look at them as if he was trying to crack the code behind them. But they weren’t shining, not now that he was calm. 

\--

Wong checked on him, the day after, and said that while he could feel some sort of energy coming from him, it wasn’t anything similar to the Mystic Arts. And that was the first time Stephen felt it. A burning fire, somewhere between his heart and his lungs, running through his body just like the wave of anxiety that washed over him. 

He was in the middle of the Stark Tower living room. He was fine, physically, which was enough for Tony to agree that he could get out of the bed he has been lying in the med bay, though his friend asked him to stay until he was back to feel his magic, and Stephen had to agree. There wasn’t a lot he could do in the Sanctum without his magic and he didn’t want to bother Christine for a place where to stay. The Tower had enough of spare rooms and some quarters for the Sorcerer Supreme were already in the new plans, according to Stark.  
No reasons for him not to stay. Which was fine, until it wasn’t. 

He tried to breathe, tried not to let that sense of pure fear mixed with the knowledge of having lost something that had become his entire life again, but he couldn’t, not after everything he went through to have another reason to wake up in the morning. And while he tried not to be overwhelmed by that sensation, he felt his entire body caught on fire, but it didn’t hurt.

“Fuck, he glows!” Tony’s voice was almost soft, pure disbelief that had Stephen frozen in place when he looked at his hands and arms. He was, indeed, glowing of what seemed to be pure energy.

He raised his hand in front of his eyes, getting in the new lighting and trying to understand why that energy seemed to be so familiar. And then his memories came back: the three blasts in the alley. His own shield, the Illusions’ man magic and/or tech, and Carol’s powers. Stephen saw Wong and Tony’s faces being substituted by their chests and then feet before feeling the stinging pain of his knees meeting the hard floor when he finally hit it. “Carol…” Was the only thing he said before the Cloak came in his help, wrapping around the Sorcerer and shielding him from the world. 

\--

He could feel Tony’s hand running against his back, tracing soothing circles on the heathen skin. He knew it was the man because his brain registered Wong leaving the building via portal to try and find something that could explain what was going on with his friend and knew nobody else was around. And, once again, he hated himself for being weak in front of a man who was the epitome of what a hero should be. Not that Stephen considered himself to be a hero, but people started to, after Thanos, and while he refused to acknowledge that much the least he could do was to be the closest as possible to the idea people had of heroes. 

“Stop that,” Stark whispered, crocking a smile once he knew the Sorcerer was looking at him and could see his face instead of a blur of browns and tanned skin. “I know what’s going on in that wonderful brain of yours, stop that. Not your fault. You had a perfectly comprehensible reaction for someone who discovered that could light up like a Christmas tree.”

Stephen didn’t want to laugh, but, apparently, his lips were traitors because he could tell he totally smiled at the joke. “I think I know what happened,” He decided that deny that Tony understood what he was thinking about was pointless. “Where is Carol?”

“She hit her head when the Phantom of the Opera attacked you, she’s still in the med bay. Why?”

Stephen looked at him, running a hand through his hair even if he knew the only thing he would do was making a mess out of them. He didn’t care. Tony was his friend, was a person who saw him covered in alien goo and still decided he was worthy of being someone to be around to, that was one of the things that made him fall for the man, one of the things that made him trust the man. Even if Stephen wasn’t one to give away his trust lightly. “Steph, was going on?”

He breathed, one hand clasping the Cloak for support, before answering. “I think I know what happened in the alley,” He explained. “That man… He used something to mess with our powers. I think it was his aim in the first place. I don’t even think he was human… There was something… weird in him.”

He could tell that Tony was getting paler and paler, but he needed to get his idea out of his brain and he knew that Stark was probably the only person who could understand.” It would make sense. He attacked Carol and I, as the only people who go fight aliens outside the Earth and he was… too common for being a real human. He was just a mixture of the most common features you can find in a human face and… Well. I can’t use Carol’s power. I’m basically useless until we find a way to swap our powers back. If a way does exist…”

Tony nodded, and, again, Stephen could tell that it was his “I hate magic” face the one which returned his glance. “You are not useless,” He whispered, tracing his fingers along Stephen’s cheekbone. The Sorcerer found it extremely calming in a way nothing has ever been for him before. He nodded as if giving Tony the benefit of the doubt while he knew better. “Yes, maybe you don’t know how to use Carol’s powers, now, and she has no idea that she has yours, which will frankly be exhilarating to watch, but whatever will happen, you’ll find a way to work with it.”

“It’s not that simple,” Stephen hated how weak his voice sounded. “Magic is… Everything I am, and everything I have. Losing it, just like I lost medicine...”

The Cloak moved faster than Tony, tightening its embrace on its master and battling for a moment the mechanic's hand that went for his shoulder. “Don’t. You won’t lose magic, not until I’ll be breathing and standing. Not until Wong will be breathing and standing and I’m starting to suspect that the man is immortal. And even in the worst-case scenario, Carol will need someone to trust her with the magic fingers,” He smirked. “And, most important, you won’t lose me.”

“I’ll be stuck with the powers of a Christmas tree and a pain in the ass as babysitter, lucky me.” Stephen tried to joke. He knew his tone was bitter, but he also knew that Tony understood that he didn’t mean bad. 

“I’m offended, and I’m sure Carol would be as well if she heard what you said about her powers,” Tony smirked and Stephen found astonish how the man could go from serious to a complete playful tone in zero time. That reminded Stephen why he didn’t need to complicate things. Yes, he was probably gone for the man, but he needed all the friends he could get, and making things weird between them was the best way to walk out Stark’s life. He didn’t want that. “Will you ever stop to think that much? Stephen, people like you for who you are, not because you can hold a fucking river with a single hand. Or because you can create a shield against the power of six Infinity Stones, or because you brought everyone back from Halloween Town dimension. People like you because you are smart and funny, and a person who can give advice, and someone who really listens to others’ problems. And because you have a Cloak with a lot of personality.”

As if prompted, the Cloak moved over so that it could also cover Stark’s arm. Stephen had no idea of what he could tell. A part of him knew that, probably, but another, a bigger one, was well aware of the fact that he was nothing without magic. Tony’s smile was so sincere that he could believe that his words were honest too. 

“How?” He asked, almost a whisper. 

“I don’t know about the others, but for me, it’s because of the snark. You are the first person ever capable of keeping up with me. But for Rhodey, but he’s always seen me as a little brother and turned me down every time I tried to make a move on him.” 

This time, what left Stephen’s lips was a real laugh. He looked at Tony and just couldn’t help but think that the man succeeded in something very few people could. For just a second, he forgot about the mess that was going on in his mind and focused just on the idea of what his words meant. “It’s the same, for me,” He whispered. “It’s just… I don’t want to ruin this.”

Tony’s smile softened while he nodded. “We don’t have to do anything about this snark thing, but just know that I’ll be by your side, in any way you’d like me to be.”

“Douchebag,” Stephen said, and he knew they would have to speak, but that wasn’t the moment. That was just a moment for them to figure out how to undo that mess, or for Stephen to learn how to use Carol’s powers and teach her how to use magic until they didn’t find the man who did that to them. 

“I like that, Asshole.” They needed to speak, but sometimes speaking made things harder, and they didn’t need harder now, so yeah, if Tony was okay with that, Stephen wasn’t going to complain. 

He would find out the day after that Carol’s powers were harder to control than whatever conversation he was thinking about to have to Tony once the mess was over. And he really hoped for it to happen sooner than later.

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments are life.  
> find me on tumblr at ironstrange-is-the-endgame and talk to me!


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